SNVMC Recognized for Higher Quality in Bariatric Surgery

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has recognized Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center with a Blue Distinction® Center for Bariatric Surgery designation as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated health care facilities that show expertise in delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community.

To receive a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery designation, a health care facility must demonstrate success in meeting patient safety measures as well as bariatric-specific quality measures, including complication and readmission rate for laparoscopic procedures in sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass and adjustable gastric band. A health care facility must also be nationally accredited at both the facility and bariatric program-specific levels.

In 2017, the Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery program expanded to include not only the type of service provided, but also the site of care. Health care facilities were evaluated as either a comprehensive center or as an ambulatory surgery center.

Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is proud to be recognized by Anthem for meeting the rigorous Blue Distinction Center quality selection criteria for bariatric surgery set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

“Our priority is to provide the highest quality, safest weight loss surgery with comprehensive care before and after bariatric surgery,” explains Dr. Denis Halmi, a pioneer in the field of weight-loss surgery and the Medical Director of the Sentara Weight Loss Surgery Center, “We are pleased to be designated as a Blue Distinction Center of Bariatric Surgery and our team is committed to working hard to meet and exceed the expectations of our community.”

Bariatric surgeries are among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S., which provides significant opportunity to improve quality within the health care system. There were 196,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2015, according to the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), and the average cost is more than $28,000 per episode, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Furthermore, it is estimated that nearly 36.5 percent of U.S. adults and 17 percent of youth are obese and impacted by obesity-related health conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related conditions are nearly $210 billion per year in the U.S., according to the Journal of Health Economics. On average, health care costs were reduced by 29 percent within five years following bariatric surgery, due to the reduction or elimination of obesity-related conditions, according to ASMBS.

“On behalf of Anthem and our associates, I would like to congratulate Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center for being selected as a Blue Distinction Specialty Care center,” said Jeff Ricketts, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “By obtaining this designation, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center has shown it shares our strong commitment to quality health care and improved health outcomes that will benefit our members and all Virginians.”

Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies across the nation have recognized more than 550 health care facilities as Blue Distinction Centers for Bariatric Surgery. Health care facilities recognized with this designation are assessed using a combination of publicly available quality information and cost measures derived from BCBS companies’ medical claims.